Within The Ruins

A heavy curtain of grey clouds obstructed the sky, and a sudden chill overcame the caravan of
travellers. The end of the unforgiving heat might have brought comfort to the party, but the scene of
otherworldly horror that began to reveal itself before them. Their memory of the harsh Shuriman sun
now seemed friendly and hospitable. At the edge of the desert, the sand began to twist into a sea of
jagged stone and shattered earth. Chasm scared the landscape, as if the ground itself had been
gashed by an enormous blade. In the distance, the silhouette of what appeared to be some long-
forsaken city had unfolded upon. The architecture of the buildings were unlike anything the members
of the expedition party had ever seen. The structures curved and folded in upon themselves as if they
were once alive and gave the impression of gargantuan tentacles frozen in stone.

The leader of the caravan dismounted from her beast. She patted its nose and whispered something
in its ear. “This is it then?” A rather burly-looking man who had been walking beside the mount
blurted out. “The ruins of Icathia. A thousand years of history just sitting hear, forgotten. And we get
first dibs.” “First dibs?!” A squeaky voice echoed from inside the caravan. A disheveled looking
woman peeked her head out from the caravan. She was fumbling with her glasses, which had gotten
bent and nearly snapped over the course of the long journey. “Do you think your at some flea
market, hoping to get the best price on a new stool? We are looking at one of the most dangerous
places in all of Runeterra, and there is a reason why we are the first people to visit it in so many
years.” The burly man muttered something under his breath as the Caravan Leader removed a pack
from her mount, the hoisted it over her shoulder. She tightened her grip on the scimitar that hung
from her waist. It had always made her feel safe to know that her weapon was by her side, but
something told her that it would do her little good here. “Thuruk, you and Ayeema are coming with
me. We’ll go as far as we can and bring back any valuables that we find.” The caravan leader
gestured at the man and woman in the caravan, and turned to the remainder of her team. “The rest
of you, find a safe place to camp out here. We’ll be lucky if we can tell our heads from our asses once
we’re out in that mist, and we’ll need you to light our way home once we’ve got what we came here
for.” “You got it, Llwana.” The few men and women that would stay behind looked more relieved
that their adventure was ending here. Leaving her mount and the remainder of the party behind her,
Llwana set off with Thuruk and Ayeema down the jagged rocks the lead to the grey lands below.

After hours of navigating the uncomfortable descent, the three stumbled upon something that
caught their attention. “Why, would you look at that!” Ayeema squeaked, and she leapt out of
Thuruk’s pack. Before them, a glint of gold could be seen peeking out from between two stones.
Ayeema pulled at the metal, but her hands were unable to free it. “Thuruk, would you mind?” Thuruk
grunted with a single motion pulled the two stones apart. “Ah, there’s a good lad. I knew there was
some reason I was still paying you.” Ayeema walked past Thuruk who was scowling at her and picked
up the dented golden relic. “Is that what I think it is?” Llwana asked Ayeema, who was entranced by
her find. “Yes indeed my dear Llwana!” “A fragment of a discarded Sun Disc! Perhaps one destroyed
by the Icathians in their rebellion against Shurima!” Ayeema handed the artifact to Llwana who
studied it admiringly. “I can’t believe it…” Llwana whispered under her breath. Since she was small,
she had herd the stories of the Great War between the Sun Emperor and the vassal state of Icathia,
but for as many stories there were there was little evidence had been preserved to corroborate them.
“You” Ayeema snapped at Thuruk, who had begun carving his name in the rock he had removed.
“Put that in you satchel, and be careful with it! That little piece of metal is worth more than you
make in a year!” Thuruk growled quietly, but Llwana put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about
her. One last job, I promise. Then we’ll never see her again. Just keep calm and we’ll be out of hear in
no time.” She slipped the Sun Disc shard into Thuruk’s pack, and he sighed. If whatever they said is
waiting out in there ruins is even half as annoying as that little runt, I’m going to need la lot more
than what she promised me.” He slumped his shoulders and muscled past Llwana and Ayeema.

Llwana turned sharply on the Ayeema, who was now examining some strange markings carved into
the stone before her. “You know, I would appreciate it if you showed me and my team for that
matter a bit more respect.” She snapped at Ayeema. “We’re out hear risking our lives for your history
project, and you treat them like they’re your beasts.” Ayeema scoffed, not taking her eyes off the
inscriptions. “I would imagine I’d have a more comfortable ride on the back of one such beast.” She
remarked. “It certainly would have been smoother, and I reckon they would smell better as well.”
Llwana’s face twisted into a scowl. “You’ve got some nerve.” She hissed. “If the Academy wasn’t
expecting you back I’d have half a mind to take this Sun Disc and leave you out hear to be gobbled
out here to be gobbled up by the Voidspawn.” “That’s odd..” Ayeema replied, still observing the
stone. “Is it?” Llwana shouted, and she advanced on the historian. She grabbed her back and spun
her around so that they were face to face. “How odd is this? Find your own way back to Piltover
cause I’m done with you.” Ayeema scoffed again, and gently removed Llwana’s hand from her robes.
“No, dear. I wasn’t referring to your empty threat.” She turned around to face the rock again.
Llwana’s face was contorted with rage. “I meant these markings. There like nothing I’ve ever seen
before. Not Shuriman, not Icathian.. perhaps not even a language at all. They almost look like-” A gut
wrenching scream echoed from out of the mist. Llwana and Ayeema both looked up, toward the
direction that Thuruk had wandered off in. “Thuruk” Llwana whispered. She bolted towards the
source of the scream, leaving Ayeema far behind her.

“Thuruk” she shouted, her hands now gripped the hilt of her scimitar, as she began frantically
searching around for any sign of her associate. Suddenly out of the gloom, something huge lunged
forward. Catching her of guard, the thing knocked Llwana off her feet, and she struggled under its
weight. “Thuruk, you big ape! Get off of me!” She gasped, and Thuruk slowly lifted himself off the
ground. “What’s wrong with you? I almost pulled my blade!” Thuruk staggered to his feet clutching
his side. Llwana noticed that he was bleeding. “Thuruk…” she said quietly. “What happened?” He
grabbed at the crumbling pillar beside him, leaning against it for support. “Something…” he gasped,
his voice shaking in pain and fear. “Something is out there.” “What? A Voidspawn?” Llwana
responded urgently. Thuruk nodded. “Not… too big.” He said. “But fast. Got me before I had a chance
to react.” Llwana produced a vile of red liquid from her pack. “Here drink this.” She said. Thuruk
managed to remove the stopper from the vial and stedied his shaking hand just long enough to take
a sip. He wiped his mouth, and began to straighten up slightly. “Thanks, I owe you one.” He groaned
and clutched at his side again. “Where’s your little friend?” “Oh no,” Llwana’s eyes widened. She
grabbed Thuruk’s ar, and tugged him back in the direction of Ayeema. “Come on! We have to hurry, I
left her alone!” The two stumbled back though the dense mist, tripping over stones and the ruins of
ancient buildings.

Eventually, they found themselves back where they had discovered the Sun Disc. Ayeema was gone.
“Ayeema!” Llwana shouted out. “Ayeema! Can you hear me?” “Uh… boss?” Thuruk said hesitantly.
Llwana spun around to see Thuruk holding up a pair of tiny shattered glasses. A sound unlike
anything Llwana had ever heard emanated from behind one of the many ruinous stones. It began
with a mechanical hum, then gurgled and reverberated until it was more like the growl of some
horrible beast. Then suddenly, it stopped… and began to wheeze… as if the whatever creature had
made that sound had started to laugh. Heavy, unknown footsteps followed the spine-tingling cackle,
and something emerged, slowly, deliberately, from the mist. It stood taller than Thuruk, who was
larger than any man Llwana had ever met, and glowed with an all-too recognisable purple light.
Llwana drew her blade. “Is this the Voidspawn that attacked you?” Llwana was shouting now, sizing
up the beast before them. Thuruk hesitated. “I… I don’t think so…” he pulled a dagger from his belt.
“The thing I saw was… much smaller.” The Voidspawn halted a short distance before Llwana. It’s
eyes shone an unnatural green as they met hers. Another horrible, distorted laugh seemed to echo
from its glowing core. “Thuruk” Llwana called out, tot taking her eyes off the creature in front of her.
“Take the Sun Disc back to the camp. I’ll hold this thing for as long as I can.” “What? You’re crazy!
Who gives a damn about this blasted piece of scrap? Ayeema is dead, let’s just get out of here!”
“Shut up and do what I say!” Llwana spat back at Thuruk. She removed her eyes from the monster
for only a second, but that’s all the time it needed. In an instant, the beast lunged forward, mouth
wide and clamped its massive jaws over Llwana. “No” Thuruk shouted, but it was already too late.
Llwana had been devoured whole. Her scimitar clanged uselessly to the ground.

Shouting until his throat was raw, Thuruk charged forward and grabbed Llwana’s blade. With a
mighty swing, he landed a vicious blow on the Voidspawn’s head, and it recoiled with a blood-
curdling shriek. The scimitar had lodged in the thick chiton, where vile, purple liquid oozed from the
wound. Thuruk grunted victoriously, then paused. As the creature backed away, it’s body began to
undulate uncomfortably. The purple light emanating from its alien core pulsed, and the strange
fibres material inside beating spiralling outward. The ground below Thuruk’s feat began to tremble
in rhythm with the horrible metamorphosis. Before his eyes, the monster was growing in size, Thuruk
was transfixed. First five meters, then ten, before long the creature looked high over the ruined like
some impossible living temple. Thuruk finally stumbled backwards, righted himself, and began to
run. The inhuman cackle echoed oneself again, this time booming like an army of a thousand
godforsaken men, and the earth itself shook.

At the camp on the border of the Shuriman desert, the harrowing cry awoke the sleeping caravan.
The woman assigned to watch staggered up, clutching at her sword. Though it was dark, she could
just barely make out the silhouette of something enormous parting the dense mist. A bellowing roar
split the silence of the night, ant the rest of the party got to their feat. They watched as the head of
some great beast turned in their direction, it’s two green eyes: bright stars in the gloomy sky, fixed
on their camp.